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Where Else But Iowa?; Debt Limit To Rise Again; Perry Says Don't Shut Me Out; Funeral For Kim Jong-il; Deadly Gunfire In Syria; Comprehensive Soldier Fitness; Christmas Day Fire; Killed In The Line Of Duty
Aired December 28, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, it's Randi Kaye.
It's 1:00, let's get straight to the news. From Urbandale in the early morning to Boone at night the GOP presidential hopefuls are carrying as much ground as they possibly can in a state that could make or break them six days from today. I'm speaking, of course, of Iowa whose caucuses will generate in-flows of cash and street cred for the winner, though not a single Republican delegate. At least three of the major contenders are on bus tours, all of them, with the exception of Jon Huntsman, are there. Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum have events this hour. We'll dip in where we can to those events and we've delve into the latest campaign intrigues in our "Fair Game" segment just about a half an hour or so from now.
Remember all that fuss about raising the nation's debt ceiling? Well, guess what? It is time to ask for the final installment in a series of debt hikes authorized back in August, when we came within just days of a government default. This one is worth about $1.2 trillion, pushing the legal debt limit to $16.4 trillion, and this time the fuss should be less, but not non-existent. The increase can only be blocked if both Houses of Congress pass a resolution against it, and President Obama, for reasons unknown, signs it. None of that, of course, will happen.
Rick Perry's not giving up on Virginia. One of several GOP candidates who failed to qualify for that state's primary ballot in March, the Texas governor is the first to file suit. He's challenging the constitutional validity of Virginia's law requiring 10,000 petition signatures from across the commonwealth. If he doesn't succeed, Virginia Republicans will have a choice of two when they go to the polls, Mitt Romney or Ron Paul.
North Korea gave its dear leader a send-off today as only North Korea can. The casket bearing Kim Jong-il who died 11 days ago made its way for three hours through a snowy Pyongyang as North Koreans wailed from the sidewalks. Accompanying his hearse, at least for the first few blocks, was Kim's youngest son and heir apparent Kim Jong- un. Later this hour, I'll get the story behind the spectacle from one of the world's foremost authorities on the world's most secretive state.
Despite the presence of Arab lead monitors on the ground in Syria, there have been more deadly clashes. Observers in the besieged city of Homs today came under fire as they were shown victims that witnesses say were killed by government security forces. Viewers may find some of these pictures disturbing. Witnesses say Arab lead monitors were taken to a mosque to see the body of a young boy. We don't know the cause of his death. Elsewhere in the country, a deadly ambush. Witnesses say this video shows defectors firing at government security forces killing four and wounding 12.
A scare for passengers on a Southwest Airlines plane at Sacramento International Airport. Officials say a bird struck Flight 1166 as it was taking off this morning. The plane returned to the airport as a precautionary measure. There were no injuries but the plane suffered some minor damage. The flight bound for Ontario, California was canceled and passengers were booked on other flights.
If you're planning to donate to any charities before the end of the year, well, you need to hear this. A report by the New York attorney general says New Yorkers actually donated $36 million more last year than they gave in 2009, but charities only added $3 million more to their bottom lines. That's because a huge chunk of what was raised went to professional fund-raisers running telemarketing campaigns. The attorney general says the fund-raisers turned over less than 37 cents for every $1.00 collected last year, compared to 42 cents a dollar back in 2009.
By now, you've heard the sad story, so many of our brave troops returning home from the battlefield with depression, thoughts of suicide and even worse. Well, now the Army wants to do something about it with a one-of-a-kind treatment program, one that treats the mind. The man and the mind behind it all, joins me next.
First, the world has lost a pioneer of acting, animal acting that is. Cheetah, the real star of the old Tarzan movies has died. Here he is celebrating a birthday, still the consummate entertainer. Those that followed him were always in his shadow. When people dressed as movie monkeys, a pale imitation. Even the loveable space chimps couldn't hold a candle to Cheetah's early work. Cheetah was about 80 when he died Saturday at his animal sanctuary home. He loved finger painting and football it turns out. Cheetah, for all the memories that you've given us, you are today's "Rock Star."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The American military has been at war for 10 years, longer than any time in our history. As we told you on numerous occasions, the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan has taken its toll, thousands killed and wounded, repeated deployments, suicides, drug problems and spousal and child abuse. Well, now the Army is trying to do more to help soldiers and their families before the soldiers enter combat and when they come home. The $125 million project is called Comprehensive Soldier Fitness. The new director is Iraq combat veteran Brigadier General Jim Pasquarette. Thank you for joining us. First, tell us about the program and how and when it started.
BRIG. GEN. JAMES PASQUARETTE, DIRECTOR, COMPREHENSIVE SOLDIER FITNESS: For sure, Randi, thanks for having me today. And Comprehensive Soldier Fitness, as you said, is a relatively new program. I would refer to what General Dempsey said back in April this year when he became our chief of staff before he was the chairman, and he said, you could requisition anything when he was a commander in the field and deployed except trust, discipline and fitness. And for years, the Army looked at physical fitness as what our soldiers needed to have to go to succeed on the battlefield. We had a great program to make our soldiers physically hard to succeed.
What we weren't doing, though, is work on the psychological fitness and the health of our soldiers and that's what comprehensive soldier fitness is about is training our soldiers to be psychologically fit before we put them in these tough environments so they can better deal with adversity, and also to, you know, improve physically fit and not have adverse outcomes to what they -- we -- they face.
KAYE: Right. Well, getting this accomplished before they enter the battlefield sounds like that's pretty key. Have you seen success with it so far?
PASQUARETTE: You know, it's encouraging. I'm glad you asked. We're just getting some preliminary results now. It's about a two and a half, three-year program and we're just getting some initial findings of the soldiers that had the benefits of this resilience training. Their psychological health and resilience actually improved over time to include those that deployed versus those units and soldiers that did not have the benefit of that training as we were setting it up.
So, we're encouraged by what we've seen initially. We still have additional research to look at trying to tease this out more but again, we're encouraged, starting to see the fruits of our labor.
KAYE: You know, a lot of people watching this might say, well, this is a no brainer. Why did the Army wait so long to implement something like this? So, what's the answer?
PASQUARETTE: Well, another great question, Randi. I will tell you, we haven't fought a war this long in the past. I think you know that this is the longest time we've ever been in a -- sustained an engagement like this. I think we found this is something we can't -- we can afford not to do anymore. We have to prepare our soldiers for the psychological impact of putting them in these tough environments.
And I will tell you, it's not just for combat. This is not a program that's affiliated with what's only in Afghanistan now and what was Iraq. Listen, we see doing this in the future well beyond that to prepare our soldiers for the stresses of everyday life. And it's also offered to their families and also to our D.A. civilians. So, very encouraged by what we find in the direction of the program.
KAYE: Just very quickly before I have to let you go here, there are some critics of the program, in fact, many of them psychologists who say that this isn't really a great program, that this is sort of a quasi-ethical research project, if you will. So, how would you like to respond to them? PASQUARETTE: Well, I'm new, I've only been here a month. I am taking in everything. I've read these articles. I've seen what was stated in other places, and I'm interested in what they have to say. I will say that if we waited for all of academia to get together and agree on what we should do, we would never have -- you know, we wouldn't go anywhere.
We believe what University of Pennsylvania has at -- with their positive psychology department there and the resiliency program is yielding good results and can improve the resilience of our soldiers that will allow them to deal -- better deal with adversity and also to thrive in life. So, that's where we're heading and you know, I plan on engaging those naysayers out there. I want to hear what they have to say, but I'm confident in what we're doing is the right thing for our soldiers and families.
KAYE: Well General, I will go on the record saying what I think you're doing is great, because I have interviewed many families when it's been too late to help their loved ones who have returned from the battlefield. So, thank you very much for all that you're doing, appreciate it.
PASQUARETTE: Thanks for having me, Randi.
KAYE: More and more law enforcement officers are being killed on the job now more than before. So, what's behind this disturbing new trend? My next guest says it is the economy. More on that coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: They are supposed to be protecting us, but now it seems police and other law enforcement may need to be protected themselves. We have new numbers just released regarding law enforcement deaths. Take a look at these with me. For the first time in 13 years, more officers were killed by guns than by traffic accidents, 68 in 2011. And for the second straight year, all law enforcement fatalities rose sharply, nationwide 173 were killed, that's up from 153 in 2010, and a 42 percent spike from 2009.
Craig Floyd is the chairman of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Craig, nice to have you on the program. This is a difficult topic, of course, to discuss. Why are we seeing such a spike in these numbers?
CRAIG FLOYD, CHMN., NATL. LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS MEMORIAL FUND: Well, I'm afraid you have to start with budget cuts that have been decimating law enforcement agencies across this country. We're cutting training dollars, equipment dollars and manpower. And I think, when you do that, that's a recipe for disaster when it comes to the safety of law enforcement officers, and, frankly, the safety of the citizens in our communities that they're protecting.
KAYE: Yes, just to give our viewers an idea, I actually have some of the numbers here in front of me. Sixty percent of the agencies cut back on training, 64 percent cut back on buying or upgrading equipment, others have cut back on upgrading technology. Clearly this is translating to the field.
FLOYD: Absolutely. And then you add to that the fact that, according to the Department of Justice, we're going to see about 12,000 law enforcement officers laid off by the end of this year for the first time in at least 25 years it looks like we're going to have fewer officers on the streets of America. And, again, that's dangerous, because when you take police officers away from the streets, that -- they serve as a deterrent to violent crime, number one, and they back up each other in these potentially volatile situations that they often have to face. So I'm afraid as the number of officers declines, we're going to see crime spike and we're going to see more and more officers at risk.
KAYE: And in terms of how these officers have been killed, we're seeing more officers killed by guns than by traffic accidents. Is that just because of more access to guns or more violent public or how can we explain that?
FLOYD: I think two things are at work there. Number one, officers are having to face a more cold-blooded, brazen, criminal element on the streets of America. Officer after officer across this country I speak to tells me the same thing, that many of these criminals don't think twice about shooting a cop. And we saw it many times this past year where officers were killed in ambush surprise attacks, totally unprovoked.
And again, this spells trouble for our officers who have to serve arrest warrants, for example. We saw it in Florida this year where in Miami-Dade, January 20th, two officers shot and killed serving an arrest warrant. And then four days later, while the funeral was going on in Miami, two officers shot and killed in St. Petersburg under the identical circumstances. So, yes, it's tough when officers have to face these more cold-blooded, brazen criminals.
And then when you give them less equipment, less training and less manpower to deal with the problem, again, I think that explains perhaps why deaths have gone up dramatically these last two years and why firearms related deaths have gone up dramatically for three consecutive years, outpacing traffic related fatalities this year for the first time in 14 years.
KAYE: Right. So just very quickly, what is the answer then?
FLOYD: I think we've got to get our legislators to realize that when you cut law enforcement agency budgets, people die. People are being placed at great risk, particularly our law enforcement professionals. Let's restore those budgets. Let's stop slashing the budgets of law enforcement agencies across this country. And as citizens, one law that we've got to obey that will save lives, move over and slow down when you see an emergency vehicle on the side of the roadway. It's the law of the land in 49 states.
Excellent advice. Craig Floyd, thank you again for your time.
FLOYD: Thank you, Randi. KAYE: Just hours after dressing up as Santa for some children, a grandfather is faced with trying to save his family from an out of control inferno.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was calling about a major, major fire with people in the house.
OPERATOR: Yes, we have the fire department on the way, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, come quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Coming up, how this horrific house fire not only destroyed a family, but shook a city's entire fire department to its core.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Now for "Crime & Consequence." And I must warn you, this next story has some very graphic details. A man described as a family friend will face formal charges later this week on Friday in the killing and dismemberment of a nine-year-old Indiana girl.
A memorial of stuffed animals was placed outside the home of Aliahna Lemmon a day after her body was found. Fort Wayne police arrested Michael Plumadore. And today we are learning he is wanted in Florida for violating probation back in 2000. According to a court affidavit in the Indiana case, Plumadore admitted striking the girl repeated in the head with a brick on the front steps of his mobile home last week and storing her dismembered body in a freezer. The girl's grandmother says Aliahna and her two sisters were staying with Plumadore while her mother recovered from the flu.
New developments just in to CNN on another story that we're following. The autopsies are complete on five family members killed in a house fire on Christmas Day in Stamford, Connecticut. Three little girls and their grandparents died in that blaze. According to the Connecticut Medical Examiner's Office, the grandfather died of blunt head and neck trauma, plus smoke inhalation. He had fallen through the rafters at the home. The little girls and their grandmother died of smoke inhalation. Also we've learned that embers from a fireplace are being blamed for that fire. The hot ashes had been discarded in an outdoor bin near the house. CNN's Deborah Feyerick has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As fire raced through the Victorian home just before dawn Christmas morning, neighbors frantically called 911.
OPERATOR: Stamford 911, what's the address of the emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a huge fire at the house next door to us. The whole house is on fire. OPERATOR: What is the address, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're at 2241 Shippan Avenue. It's the house next door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A major fire and there's three kids and a woman.
FEYERICK: Trapped inside the Stamford, Connecticut, home, grandparents Lomer and Pauline Johnson and their three granddaughters, 10-year-old Lily and seven-year-old twins, Grace and Sarah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was calling about a major, major fire with people in the house.
OPERATOR: Yes, we have the fire department on the way, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, please come quickly.
FEYERICK: The house was under renovation. It appears fireplace embers placed in an outdoor trash enclosure near the home ignited the blaze. Mom, Madonna Badger, managed to climb out on to scaffolding, frantically directing firefighters to the third floor where she said her children were sleeping.
ACTING CHIEF ANTONIO CONTE, STAMFORD FIRE DEPARTMENT: The crew pushed through two rooms unable to find the children. They were pushed back by the intense heat and flame.
FEYERICK: Grabbing two of the frightened girls, family friend Michael Borcina, seen here on his FaceBook page, reached the second floor.
CONTE: The heat drove them to get separated. And it looks like one went back upstairs and another one was found with the grandmother.
FEYERICK: Grandfather Lomer Johnson had spent Christmas Eve playing Santa at Manhattan's Sachs Fifth Avenue. He managed to lead one of his granddaughter to the back of the house and climb onto a roof, then died before he could pull her to safety.
CONTE: Just inside the window that he came out of, we found one of the young children. I guess there were a pile of books. Looks like she was placed on the books.
FEYERICK: The mother, a successful marketing executive, is said to be in shock. She was taken from the scene sobbing, "my whole life is in that house."
CONTE: When you don't make that rescue that you failed, and I don't think anybody wants to fail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And Deb Feyerick joins me now from New York.
Deb, I mean, this is such a sad story. You can see not only is the mother, of course, struggling with this, but the community and the fire department as well. What more are you learning today?
FEYERICK: Well, you know, it's interesting. The autopsies suggest that the grandfather, who was actually director of security for a major company down in Kentucky, he was able to get out of the window. Had he not falling through the rafter, there's a good chance he could have pulled that child to safety. But the location of the two on opposite sides of the windows just show they were so close to getting out but weren't able to do so.
Also, the mom initially directed the firefighters up to the third floor thinking the kids were still upstairs, but her friend had actually been able to race up and get them. So there was a desperate attempt to try to get out of the house, but the embers caught so quickly. And by the time they realized, it simply was just too late because there was no -- there were no smoke detectors in the home.
KAYE: Was the family -- do they know yet if the family was aware that there wasn't a smoke detector in the home or a working fire alarm?
FEYERICK: The interesting this is that the home was under renovation and they were planning to put in a fire alarm system, but that was not in place at the time this all happened. And also you have to remember, the father lives here in Manhattan and he, too, is suffering a devastating loss as well.
KAYE: Such a horrible, horrible thing for that family. Deb Feyerick, thank you very much for that reporting.
The Republican presidential candidates have just six days left to show Iowans what they've got. Ron Paul may be at the front of the pack, but will he still be top dog when it comes to crunch time? These are live pictures. You can see Ron Paul there probably getting ready to speak to voters.
Plus, Newt Gingrich has this to say about the front-runner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ron Paul's views are totally outside the mainstream of virtually every decent American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Will his tough talk help him push his way to the front? That is "Fair Game" and it's next.
But first, today's question for all you political junkies out there watching. Iowa's airwaves have been inundated with political ads overwhelmingly negative. So, how much have GOP campaigns and super PACs spent on TV ads in the state this month alone? $4 million? $8 million? Or $12 million? If you know, tweet me @randikayecnn. I'll give a shout-out to the first person who tweets me the right answer, so get on it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone.
Before the break I asked, how much have GOP campaigns and super PACs spent on TV ads in the state this month alone? Well, the answer, $8 million. Yes, spent in Iowa. A lot of money. Congratulations to Anthony Bruno. You rock, Anthony. You were the first one to tweet me the right answer. Nicely done.
So, do or die time for GOP candidates in Iowa. Just six days before the state's caucuses and the field is still unsettled. In the most recent Iowa poll from American Research Group, three candidates are virtually tied for the lead. Ron Paul at 21 percent, Mitt Romney at 20 percent, Newt Gingrich -- you see it there -- at 19 percent. A lot at stake here.
And it is all "Fair Game."
Let me bring in CNN contributors, Maria Cardona and Will Cain.
Thank you for coming on.
Let's talk about this.
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you, Randi.
KAYE: Newt pledged not to go negative but criticized Mitt Romney yesterday on "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, (R), FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: All I'd say to Mitt is, if you want to run a negative campaign and you want to attack people at least be man enough to own it. That's your staff and that's your organization. Those are your millionaire friends paying for it. And let's be clear. I'm willing to fight for real job creation with a real Reagan camp-style job- creation program. You are a moderate Massachusetts Republican who, in fact, is very timid about job creation. Let's get it on together and let's compare our two plans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Will, to you first on this one. Smart move to take the gloves off now?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's a complicated answer to a complicated question, Randi, because it has some many levels. First of all, Newt is not exactly standing on strong ground to criticize Mitt as a moderate. There are many substantive issues. Newt has been on both sides of the fence, from the health care mandate to global warming, to be calling someone a moderate.
That being said, I think he does need to do something. He has been bleeding support over the last several weeks. But he also said in that interview with Wolf, I'd like to challenge you -- he's done his regular thing, timekeeper, 90 minutes, no timekeeper, no moderator, on and on and on. The thing about that is I think Newt overestimates his power as a debater. He's good, but he's no superman here. He does the intellectual shell game. When you ask him a question, he dives deep into historical detail and you forget the question you asked. It was probably about some sort of hypocrisy. And you go, wow, I don't know what I asked, but he sounded smart. There was a lot of facts in there.
(LAUGHTER)
KAYE: Maria, what do you say to that?
CARDONA: I think it's a simple question with a simple answer. Newt should never have promised something he was not going to be able to keep. because what happens now? He sounds like a whiner and a hypocrite. He knows that when you become some sort of front-runner -- and he is right now -- that you are going to have a huge target on your back. And with that huge target on your back, you better have a strategy to fight back.
Do we not remember what happened to John Kerry in 2004 with the Swift Boat incident? He should know better than most politicians that that is not a promise that you should be talking about going into a presidential primary, where you're hoping to be one of the front- runners. So he should have been a little bit more knowledgeable. But I think that's old Newt coming back, where he just has this propensity for self-destruction. And we're seeing it now.
KAYE: Let's talk about Mitt Romney. He's been sitting in a steady second or third really in Iowa, but now making this final push, sort of his closing argument, if you will, in Iowa. He's now spent more than, what, $1 million in the last month there, trying to get the word out, people get the vote out for him. He's appearing looser and even a little more confident.
Do you see that as well, Will?
CAIN: Absolutely. He does look confident. And I think he should be confident. Mitt Romney doesn't have to win Iowa. A Ron Paul win in Iowa is pretty good for Mitt Romney. The only thing he doesn't want to happen is to have Newt Gingrich win Iowa, and to a lesser degree, perhaps rick Perry. He'll be fine and if he does win Iowa, that will be a huge victory for Mitt Romney. That will put him well on the path for the victory of the nomination.
Let me say one more thing about the Newt thing. Newt's rise among conservatives has been kind of confusing to many of us in the know about conservative principals and ideas. I've made this point several times. What we're seeing in Iowa is the positive effect of money in politics. All of the ads have served to inform the Iowa voters. It's not negative. We're not slinging mud here. It's informing voters about Newt Gingrich's stances on many policies. We're overusing the term negative a little bit when describing what's going on in Iowa.
KAYE: Yes.
Maria, what do you think, if Mitt Romney does well in Iowa, could he walk away with it?
CARDONA: I this if Mitt Romney does well in Iowa, if he wins in Iowa, I think it will give him the momentum to move forward in the process, as the unequivocal (ph) front-runner. But I think Mitt Romney clearly still has issues. And we're seeing it with what Newt Gingrich is trying to do now, which he frankly should have done a long time ago, which is point out to voters that Mitt Romney -- and I agree with Will. Newt Gingrich doesn't have a whole lot of room to stand on here. But at least Newt Gingrich has never talked about himself as being a moderate. He has never talked about himself as being a non- partisan Republican. There are words that Newt Gingrich --
(CROSSTALK)
CARDONA: -- all of the other rivals can use against Mitt Romney himself, and that's what they should all be doing because, even if Mitt Romney wins Iowa, he has a lot of issues and a lot of baggage in terms of a lack of conservative credentials that he has to deal with down this process.
KAYE: All right, Will, I know you wanted to say something. I'll give you 10 seconds, real quick.
CAIN: I just said Newt's called -- he may not have called himself a moderate but he's called himself a Rockefeller Republican, which means moderate in deep, deep historical detail like Newt likes to do it.
(LAUGHTER)
CARDONA: I agree.
KAYE: All right, Will Cain, Maria Cardona.
You got a laugh out of it, Maria. That's good.
(LAUGHTER)
Maria, Will, nice to see you both.
Thank you so much.
CARDONA: Thank you, Randi.
KAYE: Stay with CNN for extensive coverage from the campaign trail. Tune in to "The Situation Room" today as Mitt Romney sits down with our Wolf Blitzer. You can see that interview starting at 4:00 eastern time, only in "The Situation Room."
Straight ahead, public displays of emotion in a closed society. North Korea stages a funeral fit for a dictator. But if you think these tears are phony, well, you may be surprised.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: If you had to name three things North Korea does well, repression and isolation would probably be the first two. But it can also put on a funeral. Tears flowed and snow fell for hours today in Pyongyang as North Koreans paid their lavish and tightly organized respects to the late Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il. Kim Jong-un, the leader's youngest son and heir apparent, was mourner in chief and the center of attention. That's him at the upper left corner of the hearse.
But the grieving all happened on the sidelines, right in front of the cameras of state TV.
My next guest is one of few Americans who have close and regular contact with the world's most secretive state. Han Park, is a professor of international affairs at the University of Georgia.
Dr. Park, thank you so much for coming on to talk about this.
Did you learn anything from how things played out today as you watched that funeral procession?
DR. HAN PARK, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA: Yes. First of all, the combination of the military and civilian. And the size of the civilian next to -- right behind Kim Jong-un, there was his uncle, Jam Son TA (ph), and behind him was another person, an elderly person. And these three represent, in fact, three generations of the leadership. Jam Sun Ta (ph) was his father's contemporary. And Kim Kim Nom (ph), the older one, worked for Kim Il-Song, his grandfather. So this is the other side, you have the military. But the scene gave me the distinct impression they're trying to show the world and their people all three generations are together here. They are consolidated, solidified to honor Kim Jong- un's ascendance.
KAYE: When you look at Kim Jong-un, they're calling him the great successor, following the great leader. Is the great successor as a title, is that significant?
PARKS: It is significant, significant in the sense that it has a particular meaning. Unlike his father, who was Dear Leader, grandfather, great leader, now the world, a lot of people are skeptical about this young leader. Some very critical, because of his youth and lack of experience and so forth. So they have enough legacies coming from the grandfather and father and, therefore, you don't have to chart a new course when it comes to policy. Of course, international and domestic context has changed. It needs to be -- and people helping him needs to be more creative, adaptive to international environment. But that doesn't mean he will just change the course. And I don't expect any drastic policy shift because of that.
KAYE: We watched this play out and we saw the tears. We saw all of the mourning in the streets there. What do you make of the tears? Are they real or are they fabricated?
PARK: I think, whenever I heard that, in 1994, when Kim Il-Song died, I heard exactly the same commentary. If you understand Confucianism -- and North Korea is more Confucian than any other country I know -- the family system, the head of the father, the head of the family passing away, that is a source of great grief and mourning. And also you have to realize that, in North Korea, the political education, if you will, socialization, is such that Dear Leader, the great leader, have been deeply entrenched in their flesh and bones. So if you understand that these two features, you'll never say it's phony.
KAYE: Dr. Park, thank you so much. I know this is your area of expertise. And it was very nice to have you on to be able to discuss it with us. Thank you.
PARK: Thank you.
KAYE: 2011 was the year of the tablet, but that wasn't the only new gadget that changed our lives. Your 2011 technology rewind, straight after the break.
But first, chances are you've received a few gift cards over the years, but do you remember if you ever used any of them? Well, it turns out not everyone does. So here's a question for you. How much money in gift cards has gone unspent since 2005? The answer, after the break.
(SINGING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back. Before the break we asked you how much money in gift cards has gone unspent since 2005? The answer, $41 billion. That's according to the research firm, Towergroup. So if you have a gift card stashed away at home, think of that number and get out there and start spending it.
All right, put down that iPad and pay attention. With the New Year approaching, it is time to take a look back on the top tech headlines of 2011.
CNN's Dan Simon reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 2011 was the year of the tablet, as device makers scrambled to catch up with Apple's iPad. But nearly all of them were flops, including the Playbook from Blackberry.
Speaking of Blackberry, the one-time king of Smartphones saw its reputation damaged amid a highly embarrassing worldwide outage. Millions of its users couldn't send and receive e-mails for more than three days, forcing the companies CEO to deliver an online mea culpa.
MIKE LAZARIDIS, FOUNDER, RIM: You expect better from us. And I expect better from us.
SIMON: The Netflix brand took a hit as well after users complained bitterly over a 60 percent price hike in their movie rental service.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shame on you, Netflix.
SIMON: And the P.R. only got worse.
REED HASTINGS, CEO, NETFLIX: We think the DVD service needs its own brand so we can advertise it. We've named our DVD service, Qwikster.
SIMON: Customers hated the idea. And CEO Reed Hastings reversed himself. Netflix stocks, meanwhile, plummeted.
(MUSIC)
SIMON: But some brands saw their fortunes soar. Angry Birds went from being just a popular iPhone game to a merchandising bonanza.
(CHEERING)
SIMON: Investors got excited this year with new tech IPOs like LinkedIn and Groupon. Silicon Valley had flashbacks to the dot-com bubble era, but the interest in stock prices have faded.
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SIMON: We saw social networking this year became front and center on the global stage as pro-democracy demonstrators in the Middle East used it to organize and spread their messages. At one point, Egyptian leaders even shut down Internet access during the height of the revolution.
2011 was also a big year for hackers. The term "hacktivism" became part of the vocabulary as groups like Anonymous launched politically motivated attacks. It also became clear that Smartphones would represent the next frontier for criminals.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is your friend?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's the AT&T network.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: The cellular phone industry also made headlines with a proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile. But the Justice Department said no go, amid concerns it would harm competition in the U.S. wireless market.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD NARRATOR: With iCloud --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: This year, cloud computing became en vogue. STEVE JOBS, CO-FOUNDER, APPLE: We're going to move the digital life, the center of your digital life into the cloud.
SIMON: Of course, the biggest tech story of the year was the loss of Steve Jobs.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, THE SITUATION ROOM: People around the world are mourning the death of Apple founder, Steve Jobs.
SIMON: The Apple CEO lost his long-time battle with pancreatic cancer. Never before had a company chief executive have such a loving fan base.
JOBS: As we announce innovations --
SIMON: The company had a smooth transition with Tim Cook taking over CEO duties. And Apple once again had another major hit on its hands with its new iPhone, the 4S, which took voice recognition to a whole new level with Siri.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Find me an Italian restaurant in North Beach.
COMPUTER VOICE: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Less than a week to Iowa and the race is still wide open. Who is going to take the prize, and could we all be in for a big surprise? We're on the ground in the busy Hawkeye State coming your way next.
Then, more men are doing the household grocery shopping and stores are making changes to accommodate their needs. Where the man aisle could be popping up in the New Year.
But first, a recipe for cruelty gets a rewrite. On January 1st, two more states, Oregon and California, will ban the sale, trade, possession and distribution of shark fins. Those are often served in soups that can be the most expensive item on the restaurant's menu. Yes, order something else, please. The fins are cut off living sharks that are dumped back into the water, most often to drown or bleed to death. Tens of millions of sharks are butchered that way each year, depleting some populations by 99 percent. So shark fin harvesters, traders, connoisseurs, it may still be December, but your 15 minutes are up.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (SINGING)
KAYE: It does not get any cuter than this, which explains why this video has gone viral on the Internet. This web star is an orphaned Danish polar bear named Siku. He was born on November 22nd in Denmark's Scandinavian Wildlife Park. I cannot get enough of this little guy. Siku was taken in by the zoo because his mother couldn't produce enough milk to feed him. He now has his own Facebook page with 12,000 fans. I need to friend that little guy.
Let's check the stories making headlines at "Street level."
First to Los Angeles, where a tweet from political satirist, Bill Maher, about Denver Broncos' quarterback, Tim Tebow, is stirring controversy. Maher tweeted after the Broncos lost 40-14 to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday -- he wrote, quote, "Wow, Jesus just (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Tim Tebow bad. And on Christmas Eve. Somewhere in hell, Satan is Tebowing, saying to Hitler, hey, Buffalo's killing them." That is a direct quote. Now some conservatives are calling for a boycott of Maher's HBO show over the comments about the devoutly religious Tebow. We reached out to Maher for comment but go no response.
To Cincinnati now, Proctor & Gamble's home base. A lot of men don't like to shop. Proctor & Gamble is one company trying to change that. Back in 2009, they tested the idea of making stores like Wal- Mart and Target more man-friendly. Instead of being mixed in with more feminine items, they created areas with just men's products. This idea of man aisles apparently has caught on and is paying off. P&G says you'll see even more of them next year.
In Boxborough, Massachusetts, a group of motorists became heroes after they lifted a van off a child injured in a multiple-vehicle crash on Interstate 495. The 8-year-old boy had been ejected from the van and ended up trapped beneath it. 10 people were hurt in the crash, including a 41-year-old woman who was airlifted to a nearby hospital. The crash shut down the interstate for a short time.
To Brevard County, Florida now. Remember when dad told you it was dangerous to pick up hitchhikers. Look who was on the side of the road on Interstate 95. That guy. 911 calls flooded in. A sheriff's deputy followed the seven-foot gator until a trapper could arrive. It was eventually captured but had to be put down. Authorities believe the bottle and hook in its mouth means somebody was trying to poach that gator.
Down to the presidential caucuses in Iowa. The countdown clock stands at six days. Time is getting short, tempers are getting shorter.
CNN political gurus Peter Hamby and Paul Steinhauser are in Des Moines.
You guys look a little bit cold, but certainly things have to be heating up there.
Paul, what is the mood?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You know, Randi funny thing.
Peter, we've been out here a lot in December. It should be a lot colder. There's no snow behind us. There's the state capitol.
Randi, no snow. But you're absolutely right, politics is heating up. A lot of back and forth between the candidates with six days to go.
Let's start with Ron Paul. He's been rising in the polls. With that, comes more scrutiny. We know, when it comes to Iran, his stances is pretty diverse to the other candidates. Listen to what Mitt Romney said this morning about that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The greatest threat that Israel face and frankly the greatest threat the world faces is a nuclear Iran. And I -- we have differing views on this. some of the people -- actually one of the people running for president thinks it's OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don't. I don't trust the ayatollahs. I don't trust the -- Ahmadinejad. I don't trust those who back Hamas and Hezbollah.
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STEINHAUSER: Yes. He didn't mention Ron Paul by name, but it's pretty obvious who he is talking about. Romney will be sitting down with Wolf Blitzer. I guess we'll see what he says.
What about Paul? Paul is out with a new commercial this morning here in Iowa on the airways. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD NARRATOR: The Washington machine is strangling our economy. Politicians, who supported bailouts and mandates, serial hypocrites and flip-floppers, can't clean up the mess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Yes. Well, I think it's pretty obvious Paul going after Gingrich, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Romney. All three of them in the latest polling basically battling for the top spot -- Randi?
KAYE: Let's not leave Rick Perry out of all this. He had some tough comments, don't you think, Peter, today for the president?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: That's right, Randi. We can't leave Rick Perry out of the discussion. At the end of the day, he's a candidate with a lot of money and organization. Organization is needed to do well in Iowa. He's scraping for that third-place finish and making an aggressive play for conservative voters here. Take a listen to this sound bite from him this morning talking about President Obama and the war in Iraq. This is sort of typical of the rhetoric you're hearing from Rick Perry these days in Iowa -- Randi?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK PERRY, (R), GOVERNOR OF TEXAS & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This president wouldn't welcome home with our many heroes with a simple parade in their honor. Maybe it's because this war is unpopular with the Democrats. I don't know. But Mr. President, our soldiers come first. And it comes before party politics. We need to welcome our soldiers home. Give them that parade. Give them that pat on the back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMBY: So that sort of talk is almost is incendiary, saying the president cares more about politics than the American troops. But again, you hear a lot of rhetoric from Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Michele Bachman, those candidates are competing for that third, fourth place finish here in Iowa -- Randi?.
KAYE: Yes.
And what about Rick Santorum? You think he will be packing his bags. He said if he doesn't -- if he finishes last or near the tail end, he's going home.
HAMBY: Rick Santorum is a person to watch. He has a super PAC supporting him that just went on TV today with an ad promoting him. His campaign just dropped a lot of mail out here in Iowa. They're going on TV. And if you talk to conservatives, party chairmen here, activists, they're saying look out for Rick Santorum. He's also making a play for social conservatives. We have a CNN poll out later this afternoon, so we'll see if it's paying off today -- Randi?
KAYE: All right.
STEINHAUSER: Randi, those social conservative, Peter was just talking about, so influential out here on the Republican side.
KAYE: Listen, I hope you guys get a white caucus. I hope you get some snow.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
No? OK, maybe not.
All right, guys, nice to see you both. Thank you, Paul and Peter.
Thank you for watching today, as always. I love to hear what you think. You can you continue the conversation with me online on Facebook or on Twitter at Randikaye@CNN.
And now I will hand it over to Isha Sesay, who is in for Brooke.
Hi, Isha.
ISHA SESAY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Randi.
